This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2002-7992, filed Feb. 14, 2002, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to an apparatus for inspecting a collimator.
2. Description of the Related Art
A collimator is an optical communication device collimating a ray emitted from a light source. The collimator is used as a component in equipment such as optical communication equipment, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, etc., which may need parallel light.
As shown in FIG. 1, a collimator 10 is generally comprised of a pigtail 12 and a GRIN lens 14 which are coaxially arranged, a glass tube 15 accommodating and supporting the pigtail 12 and the GRIN lens 14, and a metal sleeve 16 protecting the glass tube 15.
The pigtail 12 is made of glass, and a fiber 13 forming a path of an incident ray is connected therethrough from one end part thereof. On another end part of the pigtail 12 is formed an inclined part 12a, having a predetermined inclination angle.
Further, the GRIN lens 14 is provided with an inclined part 14a on one end thereof in correspondence with the inclined part 12a of the pigtail 12.
To manufacture the collimator 10 having the above configuration, the GRIN lens 14 is first inserted into the glass tube 15, and fastened therein. The end part of the GRIN lens 14, which is formed with the inclined part 14a, is located inside the glass tube 15, and another end part thereof protrudes out of the glass tube 15 by a predetermined length.
After the GRIN lens 14 is accommodated in and supported by one side of the glass tube 15, the pigtail 12 is inserted in another side of the glass tube 15. The end part of the pigtail 12 which is formed with the inclined part 12a is accommodated inside the glass tube 15, mating with the inclined part 14a of the GRIN lens 14, which is accommodated inside the glass tube 15.
At this time, the inclined part 12a of the pigtail 12 is aligned so as to obtain desired optical properties, and then the pigtail 12 is fastened inside the glass tube 15.
Thereafter, the glass tube 15 accommodating and supporting the GRIN lens 14 and the pigtail 12 is inserted into a metal sleeve 16, and then the glass tube 15 is fastened onto the metal sleeve 16 by applying an epoxy resin 17 to one end of the metal sleeve 16, so as to complete the collimator 10.
However, there has not been proposed an apparatus for inspecting the collimator 10.
Therefore, the length of the protruding part of the GRIN lens 14, the amount and shape of an epoxy resin 17, etc., have been inspected with the naked eye. Further, to inspect the angle alignment, the spot alignment, etc. between the GRIN lens 14 and the pigtail 12 is not possible, thereby decreasing the reliability of the collimator 10.
Accordingly, an apparatus for inspecting a collimator effectively is provided, thereby increasing the reliability of the collimator.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
This and other objects of the present invention may be accomplished by an apparatus for inspecting a collimator including a pigtail to which a fiber is connected to transmit an optical signal, a GRIN lens coaxially arranged with the pigtail, a glass tube accommodating and supporting the pigtail and the GRIN lens, and a metal sleeve protecting the glass tube, comprising an inspection table; a grip part provided on the inspection table, and gripping the collimator to be inspected; a first camera provided over the grip part having an axis perpendicular to a length of the collimator, and photographing the collimator along the length of the collimator; a second camera arranged coaxially with the collimator on the inspection table, and photographing the collimator perpendicular to an axis of the collimator; and a displaying part connected to the first camera and the second camera, and displaying pictures transmitted from the first camera and the second camera.
One end of the glass tube and one end of the metal sleeve may be fastened to each other with an epoxy resin, and the picture photographed by the first camera and displayed on the displaying part may show at least one of a length of the GRIN lens, and an amount and a shape of the epoxy resin.
The picture photographed by the second camera and displayed on the displaying part may show an angle alignment between the GRIN lens and the pigtail.
The apparatus may further comprise a light source connected to the fiber and emitting an optical signal to a fiber; and an optical signal sensor arranged coaxially with the collimator on the inspection table, and receiving the optical signal from the light source through the collimator.
The optical signal sensor may be connected to the displaying part, and a picture photographed by the optical signal sensor and displayed on the displaying part may show a spot alignment between the GRIN lens and the pigtail.
The apparatus may further comprise a sliding block slidably supporting the optical signal sensor and the second camera; a driving part slidably moving a sliding block so that the optical signal sensor and the second camera alternately aligned with an axis of the collimator; and a rail provided on the inspection table and guiding a movement of the sliding block.
The apparatus may further comprise a control part controlling the first camera and the second camera, the displaying part, the light source, the optical signal sensor, and a driving part.